The Song of Tears: An Essay on Repentance Based on the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete

The Great Canon has been described as one of the jewels of Orthodoxys ascetic spirituality. In the first week of Lent during Great Compline it is sung and declaimed in portions; on Thursday of the fifth week during Matins in its entirety. Throughout accompanied by bows or prostrations the refrain is: Have mercy on me O God have mercy on me. This short yet full essay by Olivier Clement serves as an enriching commentary and guide for reading The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. The author begins the journey with a study of the meaning of awakening and the fear of God the stepping stones toward true repentance. He then follows the Canons path of identifying our fallen nature the passions Christs liberation from sin and death humility and asceticism and ends with a comparison between the shedding of tears and the holy chrism of baptism. Clement ultimately encourages us to see repentance as the key to being fully alive-and The Great Canon as our roadmap toward becoming alive in Christ. A translation of the Great Canon accompanies the text.